Monday, June 17, 2013

"A second home" by Leonard Williams

Cinema
Center is a unique venue. For some, it's an occasional place to visit during a
festival like Taste of the Arts; for others, it's a place for a date or an
outing with friends. For me, Cinema Center has been a second home.

Movies
have been key to my life's horizon for as long as I can remember. The film
versions of Frankenstein and Dracula haunted my early dreams. Nothing can match
the enduring thrill that I felt when seeing the television premiere of The Day the Earth Stood Still. Chicago
stations showed all the old movies, classics and non-classics alike, and public
television captivated me with the joys of silent films--not just the comedies
of Keaton and Lloyd, but obscure dramas like The Tong Man. When I had a car, I regularly traveled to a small
theatre in Hobart, Indiana, to catch new films not like those shown at the
drive-ins.

It was in
college, though, that I learned about the diverse, wondrous artistry of film.
In Carbondale, at Southern Illinois University, a world of film was available both
in town and campus. In town, one could see popular fare like Butch Cassidy and Cabaret, but also quirky films like Annie Hall and Nashville.
On campus, though, it was a different world altogether. There I saw classics of
German Expressionism (The Cabinet of Dr.
Caligari), the old serials that I saw first on TV (Flash Gordon and Commander
Cody), thought-provoking animated films from Yugoslavia and Canada,
experimental films (including those by John and Yoko), not to mention great
foreign films by Bergman, Truffaut, and Goddard.

Fast
forward through many years, and I find myself in North Manchester. Cinema
Center does not have a permanent home, but I come to watch films in an
auditorium in the art museum--at least when the demands of family and work make
it possible. By the time I move to Fort Wayne, I am traveling to Cinema
Center's Berry Street location every weekend and sometimes during the week. The
movies it shows provoke conversations that begin in the lobby and end days
later. I marvel at the diverse audiences that come to its various films.
Special events occur in and around the movies: annual gatherings like Artament,
occasional parties for films like A Prairie Home Companion or The Big Lebowski, monthly Movie Talk conversations about films (from the endearing Lars and the Real Girl to my beloved The Day the Earth Stood Still) and the issues they raise. All these yield a host of new friends and acquaintances, united by a love of movies. It was not long before I become a member, volunteer on a committee, and eventually join the Cinema Center board.

As a
non-profit arts organization dedicated to film, Cinema Center is a unique
treasure for Fort Wayne, northeast Indiana, and northwest Ohio. It supports
local filmmakers by premiering their works. It helps build an intelligent
audience for film and other arts through its programming and discussions. It
crosses cultural boundaries by showing films from diverse communities and
experiences, films not shown in commercial theaters.

These
days, we can see all kinds of movies
wherever we may be. Megaplexes show them at multiple times in many dimensions;
Netflix and smartphones bring them to us on demand. To experience film, though, you have to sit in the dark, with an
intimate crowd, in a theater staffed by friends and neighbors who love movies.
Our neighborhood cafes, food trucks, and farmers' markets, encourage us and
make it possible for us to eat local.
For decades now, Cinema Center has made it possible for us to watch local. Where else can you stay at
home, be among friends, and still see the world?